Police station interview training – an update

SUPRALAT (Strengthening SUspects’ rights in pre-trial proceedings in the European Union through PRActice-oriented LAwyers’ Training) is a European project which was designed to equip lawyers with the skills to undertake police station interviews. The significant changes to Scottish criminal practice since the case of Cadder and the 2018 commencement of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016 highlighted the need for training. We recognised that this was not a topic covered in academic study but acquired through practical experience in attending at police stations.

The Society adapted the course developed by Dublin City University to deliver a “Training the Trainer” event in October 2018 to 13 members of the profession, who will go on to deliver training as part of a rollout to the wider Scottish criminal profession. The course will be one day of training recognised for CPD purposes.

We anticipate that the first course will be delivered in Edinburgh in May 2019. The format of the training will comprise lectures, interactive scenarios and discussion sessions.

We are pleased to be involved in this important training initiative in taking forward one of the key recommendations of the Justice Scotland Report on “legal assistance in the police station”, that a training programme endorsed by the professional body should be made available to the profession.

Gillian Mawdsley, policy executive at the Law Society of Scotland